Child Benefit: Actually, it's Number 10 that flinched

Michael Gove has admitted he knew of the cuts in advance. Pic: JANE MINGAY

On Monday, Team Dave was happily rebuking journalists who questioned the wisdom of the Child Benefit change by accusing us of self-interest. The reaction, we were assured in jauntily confident tones, was no more than a confection got up by a media class unhappy at losing the cash it gets to help pay the nanny. We demand tough action, it seemed, but flinch when we get it.

Monday is a long time ago now and looking across the papers (with the weird exception of the NI titles), the headlines are all about what happened on Tuesday, namely chaos and confusion leading to David Cameron's apology on ITV. There is still a mystery surrounding how the policy was decided, or why it was presented in the way that it was: denials on Sunday night, then a suprise TV announcement by George Osborne on Monday. Since then, the leadership has been weaving all over the place trying counter the barrage of reaction. Behind the scenes it's been brutal – MPs who have spoken out are being told their careers are in jeopardy – but in public it's been weedy, with talk of giving tax breaks to married couples who are higher rate payers. The £1bn saved by the measure is being given away in buy-offs. Cabinet ministers are fending off questions asking when they knew: Theresa May was asked 11 times by Jeremy Paxman last night; Michael Gove said on the BBC just now that he did know in advance but won't say how far. Meanwhile on Women's Hour the reaction is ferocious.

So while we wait for the Prime Minister to put us all straight this afternoon and get the show back on the road, it is worth making this point: if this is how the centre reacts when the going gets tough on a single measure, how is it going to cope when the CSR is published in full? It is difficult to escape the conclusion that this week, it's Number 10 that flinched.